Contact breaker assemblies

ABSTRACT

A CONTACT BREAKER ASSEMBLY FOR USE IN AN IGNITION DISTRIBUTOR OF A ROAD VEHICLE INCLUDES A FIXED CONTACT AND A MOVABLE CONTACT MOVABLE INTO AND OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH THE FIXED CONTACT. THE MOVABLE CONTACT IS CARRIED BY AN INSULATING HEEL MEMBER WHICH IS ENGAGEABLE IN USE BY THE CAM OF A DISTRIBUTOR, AND A LEAF SPRING URGES THE INSULATING HEEL MEMBER TO PIVOT IN A DIRECTION TO ENGAGE THE MOVABLE CONTACT WITH THE FIXED CONTACT. THE MOVABLE CONTACT IS SECURED TO ONE END OF THE LEAF SPRING, AND THE LEAF SPRING EXTENDS THROUGH A PASSAGE IN THE INSULATING HEEL MEMBER AND IS ENGAGED WITH THE HEEL MEMBER AS A SNAP FIT.

Inventor Appl. No.

Filed Patented Assignee Priority Alfred Donald Prickett Birmingham, England July 24, 1969 June 28, 1971 Joseph Lucas (Industries) Limited Birmingham, England Aug. 9, 1968 Great Britain CONTACT BREAKER ASSEMBLIES 1 Claim, 1 Drawing Fig.

U.S. Cl 200/166, 200/19 Int. Cl H0lh 1/00 FieldoiScarch 200/19, 30,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,014,101 12/1961 Gaylor 200/30 3,267,243 8/1966 Dotto 200/30(X) 3,370,136 2/1968 Neely ..2.00/l66(B8)(X) Primary Examiner-H. 0. Jones Attorney-Holman and Stern ABSTRACT: A contact breaker assembly for use in an ignition distributor of a road vehicle includes a fixed contact and a movable contact movable into and out of engagement with the fixed contact. The movable contact is carried by an insulating heel member which is engageable in use by the cam of a distributor, and a leaf spring urges the insulating heel member to pivot in a direction to engage the movable contact with the fixed contact. The movable contact is secured to one end of the leaf spring, and the leaf spring extends through a passage in the insulating heel member and is engaged with the heel member as a snap fit.

CONTACT BREAKER ASSEMBLIES This invention relates to contact breaker assemblies, for use in ignition distributors, of the kind including a fixed contact, a movable contact movable into and out of engagement with the fixed contact, an insulating heel member supporting said movable contact, and a leaf spring urging said movable contact into engagement with said fixed contact.

According to the invention, in a contact breaker assembly of the kind specified, said movable contact is secured to one end of said leaf spring and said leaf spring extends through a passage in said insulating heel member, said spring being engaged as a snap fit withsaid heel member.

The accompanying drawing is a sectional view of the heel assembly of a contact breaker assembly according to one example of the invention.

Referring to the drawing, the contact breaker assembly includes a moulded, insulating heel member 11 having an integral cam follower portion 12 at one end thereof and having a pair of integral, resilient, part-circular arms 13 at the opposite end thereof. The arms 13 defined between them a passage 14 through which a pivot post extends from an angle plate of the contact breakerassembly. The heel member 11 is pivotally mounted, through the arms 13 and the pivot post for movement in a plane parallel to the plane of the angle plate.

The angle plate includes an integral, upturned tag on which a fixed contact of the contact breaker assembly is supported. A movable contact 15 of the contact breaker assembly is secured to one end of a conductive leaf spring 16 which extends through the heel member ll. The end of the leaf spring 16 remote from the contact 15 is anchored to, but insulated from, the angle plate.

The heel member 11 is moulded with a passage extending therethrough, to receive the spring 16. The passage in the heel member is of width equal to the width of the spring and of depth equal to the thickness of the spring, so that the spring is a tight fit therein. Moreover, so that the spring together with the contact 15 can be inserted through the heel member 11 to assemble the heel assembly, the walls of the passage in the heel member 11 are relieved at 17 and 18 to accept the contact l and the head of the rivet securing the contact to the spring, respectively. It will be appreciated that the diameter of the contact 15 and the diameter of the head of the rivet are considerably smaller than the width of the spring 16, and so only parts of the walls of the passage in the heel member 11 are relieved, the remaining parts of the walls of the passage engaging the spring 16. In order to lock the spring 16 in the desired position with respect to the heel member 11, the spring is formed with a pair of resilient inclined tags 19, 21 which engage respectively opposite ends of the heel member 11 when the spring 16 is in position. During insertion of the spring 16 through the heel member 11, the tag 21 is flexed by engagement with the wall of the passage in the heel member 11, to lie flush with the main portion of the spring 16, and the dimensions of the heel member 11, and the spacing of the tags 19, 21 is such that the end of the tag 21 does not clear the end of the passage in the heel member 11 until the end of the tag 19 engages the opposite end of the heel member 11, whereupon the tag 21 can flex outwardly to engage said end of the heel member 11 and thereby lock the spring 16, and contact 15 in the desired position in relation to the heel member 11.

In use, the heel assembly is engaged with the pivot post of the angle plate, and the angle plate is inserted into an ignition distributor. The ignition distributor constitutes part of a conventional ignition system of a road vehicle. The fixed contact is earthed through the angle plate, and the body of the ignition distributor, and the movable contact 15 is electrically connected, through the spring 16, and an external lead to one end of the primary winding of the ignition coil of the ignition system. The ignition system operates in the normal manner, the opening and closing of the movable contact 15 and the fixed contact serving to break and make an electrical circuit through the primary winding of the ignition coil so that high tension electrical ulses are induced in the secondary winding of the coil. The igh tension pulses are distributed to the sparking plugs of the engine of the road vehicle, in turn, in the conventional manner.

If desired the heel member 11 can be moulded with an integral, resilient bridging piece which bridges the arms 13 and which urges the arms 13 towards one another when the heel member is mounted on a pivot post.

lclaim:

1. An improved contact breaker assembly including a movable contact movable in use into and out of engagement with a fixed contact, an insulating heel member supporting said movable contact, and a leaf spring urging said movable contact into engagement with the fixed contact, the improvement being that said movable contact is secured to one end of said leaf spring, and said insulating heel member is formed with a passage extending therethrough, said leaf spring extending through said passage, and said leaf spring including means for securing said spring to said heel member by means of a snap fit. 

